Lunar Eclipse
by Sarah Spidermonkey
Summary: It follows the story on after Breaking Dawn, written as a new vampire that comes from living with the Volturi to live with the Cullens.
1. Preface

**Preface**

I'd never really given much thought as to how I would die, and in some ways I guess I was already dead, but dying in the place of someone I love? It seems like a pretty good way to go. I'd now come full circle. My father had saved me from these trackers two years ago, he wasn't here to save me this time. No one was. I opened the door and crossed the room. I heard the screams from across the room, and turned to stare into the blood red eyes of the three hooded creatures behind me.


	2. Volterra

**Volterra**

It felt like I was in a dream. One of those awful dreams where you're running away from a creature you're never going to outrun. One of those dreams when you're screaming at the top of your voice to wake up, yet the dream doesn't end. I was too terrified to pause and look behind me. How close were they? No one in the Plaza seemed alarmed by the terrified expression on my face, or the frantic pace which I was running at. Did nobody in Italy care? Just then, I smacked face first into a black wall at full speed. I re-bounded off it and landed flat on my back on the hot concrete. The wall suddenly didn't seem as close anymore, and I realised with a start it was actually two people staring down at me with lilac eyes.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you there," I scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could, but the sudden head rush sent me flying into the closest one of the pair.

"No problem. Are you alright? You seem a little flustered," The man's hands were ice cold against my arms; even through his gloves. How could I explain why I was 'a little flustered' without seeming completely crazy?

"Umm, yeah. Thanks. I'm fine. I should probably be going..." My voice trailed off as I heard the approaching footsteps behind me. I was shocked to feel the man's hands tighten on my arms. I glanced upwards to see him glaring into the shadows behind me.

"Andrew, Thomas, Elizabeth," He almost drenched my face as he spat the words. A sudden chill shot down my spine as I realised that he knew my pursuers. I began to feel like a sheep being herded. I turned my head slightly so that I could see the three hooded people in the shadows as the man with cold hands addressed them. "I thought you were aware of our residency in this part of Italy. May I ask what you were doing in pursuing this young lady so early in the day?"

The closest of the three stepped out into the sun, and I felt my eyes grow wide as I realised how tall he was. I shifted my weight closer to the two men I had bumped into. Somehow their lilac eyes and black, woollen cloaks seemed more inviting than the red eyes of the others.

"Aro," He nodded his head toward the man who had addressed him, the man still holding my arms. "We did not realise you still hunted in this part of the city. With the high population I would have thought you'd search further afield. All the same, we apologise. Thomas here," He gestured behind him,"Has taken quite a liking to her scent. A fine tracker is Thomas, he – Oh. I do apologise again. It seems this young girl now knows far too much. We can deal with her if you like."

His voice was thick with implications. He was a tall man, perhaps bordering on 6 feet, and he wasn't very broad. His voice had a low, musical edge to it; much as the others did. All five had pale, chalky skin. They all had what looked rather like bruising under their eyes, but it could simply have been from many nights of no sleep. It was unnerving to wonder why these people all shared a lack of sleep. I quickly turned my attention back to the pair of lilac eyed men and studied their faces the best I could. Each had bruise-like colouring under their eyes, and neither was very plump. They reminded me of two hooded twigs. One thing that was startlingly obvious in every person here, with the exception of me, however, was how unbelievably beautiful they were. I was sure they must have been related somehow, but they seemed so full of loathing for each other. The lilac eyed man who hadn't spoken yet shocked me by suddenly addressing the obvious leader of my pursuers, "That won't be necessary, Andrew, I assure you. Aro and I shall take care of matters here. Off you go."

With a courteous nod, much like one you would give to a member of the Royal family, the three hooded figures were gone. I suddenly became very aware of how empty this part of the Plaza had become in the past few minutes, and I felt a shiver run down my back. I had no idea who these men were or how they knew the people who had been trying to murder me. What had they meant by me now knowing too much? Before I could consider it any longer, Aro spoke up.

"I am so very, very sorry about that, my dear. You are safe now. Eleazer," He indicated the other man, "And I shall take care of you now. Where are you from?"

"Mario Negri, Sir."

"Please, call me Aro. 'Sir' is much too formal for friends," He must have noticed my frightened expression, as he quickly added, "I assure you that you are completely safe with us. We shall not hurt you."

Somehow, a strange man telling me that he wasn't going to hurt me wasn't very comforting. Neither was his formal tone. He spoke as if he were living centuries ago. I was a little confused as to why he hadn't seemed surprised when I'd told him that I was from Mario Negri; surely he knew.

"My friend here sees – potential – in you. You look exhausted, my dear. Follow us," It didn't seem logical for Aro's words to make me feel safe, but I felt safer now than I had my entire life.

We walked through the shadows towards the castle that towered above the tops of the buildings. It was a boiling hot day, but the two men never removed their cloaks or gloves. When we reached the wooden doors at the entrance to the castle, Eleazer held the door for me, and I was sure that I heard him inhale as I stepped past him. The inside of the building was surprisingly modern; a long, high-ceilinged room with a few windows, and pictures scattering the walls. Eleazer strode on ahead, but Aro stayed close to my side, as we crossed the room. When we reached the wooden door at the other end of the room, Eleazer once again held it open for me. This corridor was completely different; bare, empty, old-fashioned. Aro seemed to notice me shudder as chills rippled down my spine; he moved closer to me and extended his arm to reach around my waist. Every human instinct in me told me to turn and run, but I couldn't find the fear in me - I was completely at ease here.

We reached the next wooden door, and Eleazer, once again, held it open for me as I stepped through. This room was completely different, yet again. Each wall was painted an off-white colour, and each held a painting. The lights from the paintings and the classroom – style strip lights across the roof were the only sources of light to this room; there wasn't a single window. A mahogany reception desk took up the bottom corner of the room, the other bottom corner simply housed another door and chairs lined each wall. This was obviously the more public entrance, as people were wandering in through a huge entrance, on the opposite side of the room to the desk. I began to wonder why we'd taken the more private route, and why every door in this place seemed to be on the right. I knew that I should have been worried about a strange man still having his arm wrapped around my waist, but I couldn't find a single trace of fear in me.

Eleazer and Aro both nodded to the receptionist as they passed. "Mary," Was the only word they spoke to her. Mary's answering smile seemed more rehearsed than she had perhaps intended, as she quickly looked back down to her desk.

"I don't mean to seem rude, Aro, but where exactly are we going?" I was surprised to find that my voice wasn't as high-pitched as I would've expected.

"My dear, as I said earlier; you look exhausted. We're merely allowing you to rest. We shan't be much longer now; only one more corridor to go."

"You don't have to do this, you know? You've already done enough for me. You scared away those red-eyed people. That's more than enough."

"But we mu- we want to. Tell me, my dear, what's your name?"

"Luna." I stopped looking around, and stared into his violet eyes.

"Luna... And what is your last name, Luna?"

"Umm, Swan. My name is Luna Swan."

"It's nice to meet you, Luna Swan. I'm Aro Volturi. My brothers Marcus and Caius will be delighted to meet you. Tell me, do you have any family?"

"My mum lives in Florida, and my dad lives in Washington. They thought I was crazy, so they sent me to an asylum, here in Volterra, six months ago; Mario Negri. They declared me dead; they even had a funeral. I escaped this morning, but I bumped into those people. I did apologise, but they started sniffing me and whispering to each other. I got scared, so I ran, but they followed me," My voice broke at the memory. I had to clear my throat a few times to remove the tears that had built up there. Aro's eyes, which had risen to ceiling, looked down into mine, and gently wiped away a tear that had rolled down my cheek.

"You're safe now, my dear. They will not find you again. They will look, but they will not find you."

Mine and Aro's conversation had distracted me; we were no longer in the reception area, but in what resembled a castle turret. At the far side of the circle were three chairs, they almost appeared throne-like.

"There you are, my dear," Aro indicated the chairs, "You get some rest. We'll take care of everything."

He guided me slowly toward the centre chair, and gently pushed me down into it. It wasn't at all how I'd expected; it was extremely soft. I curled into a ball, with my face toward the back of the chair, and hugged my knees to my chest. I closed my eyes and expected to lie awake for a long time, just as I did at the asylum, but I fell straight into unconsciousness. The last thing I remembered was a cold hand on my side, and pain as something sharp broke the skin on my neck.


	3. Fire

**Fire**

The flame torched my neck and I screamed out for someone, anyone, to take it away. Why couldn't anyone hear me? I could feel it getting bigger and bigger as it spread through my hair and caught on my clothes. It covered my whole head now, and I writhed in pain. The fire must've been huge, and the chair had been wooden, so why could no one see it? It spread slowly down my body, and I tore at any piece of skin I could find. The scratches and nips that I was inflicting on myself seemed mild in comparison; the fire was too hot.

I screamed for help, for someone to put the fire out, but the burning didn't go away. Why was no one helping me? I screamed at the top of my lungs as the flames made their way down my arms. I threw my arms at my face and tore at them with my teeth. I was surprised how hard my skin was, yet how easily my teeth sank through it. The pain from the tear seemed to make the fire hotter, but I couldn't stop. I bit my way down my entire body, until I could no longer move under the flame.

There was only one place in my whole body that didn't burn; my heart. I tried my hardest to bend my neck toward it, but the flame pinned me to the chair. I fought against it with everything I had, but I stayed pinned to the chair. I wondered how long I'd been burning for with no one noticing. My screaming hadn't seemed to attract anyone's attention, yet I felt as if eyes were watching me. I strained my ears to listen for voices, footsteps, breathing; any indication that I wasn't alone in the room.

I tried to force my eyes open, but they felt as if they were glued together. I threw myself onto my side, and I felt the air rush past me as I fell to the ground. The fire burning on the throne should have felt further away now, but there was no difference. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me, and the soft cushions of the chair were suddenly underneath me again. Did these people want me to die? The heat didn't cool, but the fire raging in my head slowly began to subside. They must've noticed me and were now trying to put out the fire, but the fire was only disappearing from the top of my head. I screamed for them to put out the rest of the fire, but only my head was cooling down.

As it slowly moved down toward my neck, I felt my feet cooling. But another fire, a much worse fire than before, was now starting to burn in my heart. As the burning in my heart increased, the speed at which the rest of my body was cooling increased. I screamed in pain as my heart began to feel increasingly close to its final beat. I screamed until my throat couldn't take anymore. The fire in the rest of my body had now cooled, but its previous heat seemed mild compared to the fire now burning in my heart. I screamed with everything I had as my heart froze; froze as it beat for the last time.


	4. The Cullens

**The Cullens**

The town of Forks was surprisingly hard to find when you'd never been there before; tucked away in a little corner of the Olympic Peninsula. Aro's directions hadn't helped much; his directions never did. He'd sent me to Phoenix once, and I'd ended up in Miami. All sunny places seemed the same to my father. I was on the verge of turning back and heading home when I heard something running through the trees. My eyes flitted through the greenery, and I smiled as I caught the scent; werewolf. I slipped in and out of the trees in the direction of the rustling, and smiled again as the muddy brown wolf came into view. It was too small to be very old; a few months old at most. It raised its head as I approached.

"Ugh. Do you have to smell so bad? I'm trying to hunt here," I tried to sound friendly, but it came across more sarcastic than I intended.

"You can talk, bloodsucker."

Definitely a wolf. Definitely a female wolf, too. I was a little surprised she'd expected me to understand her. She couldn't have possibly known that I could read minds.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you. I was just saying that you smelt bad."

"What the- Oh crap! She can hear me."

That explained why she'd answered me. "Umm, yeah. Mind-reader. Listen, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find about nine vampires that go by the name 'Cullen', would you? It's kind of important that you don't send me in the wrong direction too, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, I know the Cullens. I'll take you to 'em. You're on Quileute land by the way, so don't kill anything."

"Sure, sure."

She set off running, and it seemed like she was trying to loose me in the forest. I'd never realised just how little werewolves actually knew about vampires until then; as if an overgrown Labrador could outrun a vampire! She dodged between the trees now and again, but it was easy to keep up with her. We reached the edge of the thick forest in a few minutes, where a huge white house stood at the far end of the clearing. Two huge stretches of grass reached toward us, with a gravel path separating them. We ran up the path to the house, but the wolf stopped at the door.

"There you go, leachy. Can you tell them that I'll be back later? Thanks," She didn't bother to wait as she thought the words; she was already disappearing back into the forest.

I took a deep breath and knocked twice on the white door, denting it by accident. What a great first impression I was making. As I looked around for some way to get the dent out, the door opened to reveal a young, blonde-haired man smiling at me.

"Hello there, what can I do for you?"

"Hi, umm, I was looking for Carlisle Cullen. I was told he lives here. Have I got the right address?"

"Yes, dear. I'm Carlisle Cullen. You must be Aro's daughter. We've been expecting you. Do come in," He stood aside with a grin to let me through the doorway. "Alice told us that you were coming. We've set a room up for you upstairs, and we've enrolled you at Forks High School with everyone else. You'll be in the same classes as Alice, Edward, Bella and Renesmee."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. I didn't expect you all to be so kind," I looked around at the nine pairs of golden eyes watching me. "Aro told me that you'd probably know that I was coming and why, but I didn't expect you to have gone to so much trouble."

"It was no trouble, dear. We're very happy to have you here. Renesmee was growing tired of being the youngest around here anyway. I'm Esme," It was obvious that Esme was the mother of this family.

The main room of the house was wide and tall; it looked as if two rooms had been made into one. Each wall was white, apart from the back wall which was made solidly of glass. The roof had wooden beams that stretched downwards from the middle, stopping when they met the wall. There was something very warm and inviting, yet organised and clean about this room. A grand piano stood in the corner with music sheets in a neat pile on the stool. It was more of a home than the house I'd had in Italy.

I took in the nine faces peering curiously at me, and began to feel a little edgy. There were clear couplings here; Esme and Carlisle, a blonde girl with a tall, dark-haired guy. A thin girl with dark, spiky hair was clearly with the other blonde man. A brown-haired girl stood close to a guy with bronze, tousled hair, and a younger brown-haired girl stood close by with a russet-coloured guy. Where would I fit in?

"Umm, I don't mean to seem rude, but who is everyone?" I decided that the best way to learn names would be to ask.

"Well, you already know myself and my wife, Esme. This is Rosalie and Emmett"- The first couple- "Alice and Jasper" – The second – "Bella and Edward" – The third – "And Renesmee and Jacob; Renesmee is Bella and Edward's daughter," Carlisle indicated to each couple as he named them.

"Nice to meet you," I made a nod in the general direction of the group.

"Aren't you kinda small to be a tough bodyguard for the Volturi?" It was the first time I'd heard Emmett speak. He was tall; perhaps bordering on six foot, and very muscular. His short, curly, black hair reminded me of an afro for a toddler, and his huge grin showed off his dimples.

"Yeah, umm, I wasn't exactly a bodyguard. More an experiment that Aro wanted to keep; sort of like a pet. Long story short, Eleazer told Aro what he thought my 'gift' could turn out to be, so Aro made me a vampire."

"Classy," Jacob had a huskier voice than other vampires I'd met. He also smelled extremely bad; kind of like a dog. I inhaled sharply as I realised that I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion earlier; he wasn't a vampire at all. He _was_ a dog, and a very big dog at that; he was a werewolf. Carlisle had said he was with Renesmee, and she was clearly a vampire. Her scent, her appearance, and the fact both her parents were clearly vampires all gave that away. A werewolf and a vampire... That was new.

"Jacob," Renesmee scolded him. Renesmee was thin, and very tall; the sort of frame any supermodel would die for. Her bronze hair matched her father's, and the curls in it flowed gracefully to the base of her back. Her bronze eyes were liquid and deep; clearly not thirsty. She stepped forward with the grace and poise of a ballerina; her face inquisitively cocked to the side. She was more observant than the others; her mouth dropped open as she gasped in shock, "Your eyes! They're... they're... blue!"

As soon as the words had left her mouth, everyone in the room was looking into my eyes. I suddenly began to feel very self-conscious. "Umm, yeah. Sorry about that," I mumbled it more to myself than the others.

"It's not something to be ashamed of, Luna. I'm Alice." Alice was short and thin with short, black, spiky hair. She stepped forwards toward me as she spoke, but her movements were exaggerated; as if she was afraid to scare me. "Carlisle told us about Aro's claims. Aro told him that you have a remarkable talent. I don't see any future for you. Would you mind explaining that?"

Damn Aro.

"Oh yeah, _that_. Umm, it's nothing really. I can tell what other people's talents are, and I sort of take them in. Once I have them, I kind of... adapt on them." I gathered by the confused looks on everyone's faces that they weren't following me. "Like this. Edward, try to read my mind."

Edward looked straight into my eyes with a confident expression on his face. As the seconds passed, his face grew more strained in concentration; his eyes narrowing as they burned into my face. "I... I Can't. I thought only Bella had that sort of control."

"She did. Then I walked into the room, I knew she had an extreme level of control, and I took it for myself."

Edward's eyes shot wide open, and I realised my words could be taken in two ways. I threw my hands in front of my face as he began to crouch.

"Bella still has her talent; I just have it now too. Bella's no less powerful or more powerful than she was before she knew me. I promise. Try to read her mind and you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Edward turned in his half crouch, without straightening up, to look up at Bella. He slowly straightened up; his eyes running down Bella's body as he did so. His eyes skimmed along the floor, before moving up my own body. "You've grown up around Jane," Edward's stance shifted infinitesimally so that he was between Bella and me.

"I'm trained to defend myself, Edward. I wouldn't harm anyone unless they were planning to harm me. Yes, that is true," I answered the question in his head without realising it hadn't been said aloud. "My ability to harm people _is_ greater than Jane's, but my desire to be something other than a monster stops me from using it. As I said, I _will _defend myself if I need to, but I don't use my ability for recreational purposes as Jane seems to."

Edward really didn't seem to trust me. The next, and last, words he spoke to me that night were simply, "We'll see."


	5. First Night

**First Night**

It was odd not to be the only vampire in the house that actually slept, but I didn't mind; Oreo had always let me sleep alone. I smiled to myself as I remembered the first time I'd accidentally called Aro 'Oreo'. The Cullens had been surprisingly nice. It was clear that they all loved each other very much, and I was still thrown slightly as to where I would fit. Everyone had their partner; their 'soul mate', but I had no one. I'd never been the pretty girl, or the skinny girl, or the noticed girl really, but I'd somehow seen that change when I became a vampire. I was extremely grateful to Aro for saving me, and I always would be, but when I was alone at night it was hard not to wonder what my life _could_ have been like. The pale moonlight shone in through the side wall, as it was made of glass, and glittered off my bare arms.

I'd always been different, even when I was still human, so it was only natural that I should be different to other vampires. They glittered in the sun, yet I glittered in the moonlight. They drank blood and nothing else, yet I ate human food. I sometimes thought I was more human than vampire. As I watched the beams of light dance off my skin, my mind wandered. I wondered how I would handle high school tomorrow; so many humans. I ate human food, but I was still a vampire; my thirst always burned away at the back of my throat. Bella's control should help me, but how much could it really help? What if I attacked someone? I was unsure if the Cullens would stop me before I got out of control. I had to hope.


	6. Forks High School: Home of the Spartans

**Forks High School**

Jasper held my door for me as I got out of the car, with Alice leaning over his arm. "You're gonna love Forks High, Luna!" Alice's musical voice was slightly higher-pitched than usual.

"I hope so," My smile didn't seem to fool anyone. Edward slung his arm around Bella's shoulders and headed straight for the entrance, with Rosalie following behind them. Emmett threw his arm around my shoulders and towed me along in the same direction.

"Don't worry about Edward, Kidda," Emmett's ear to ear grin and light hearted tone were hard to doubt. "He's just getting hormonal about the fact that you grew up with the Volturi, and yet you still manage to have a cleaner record than he does. I'm impressed, y'know? I thought only Jacob could make him this annoyed."

"Hey!" Jacob suddenly piped up behind us.

"Well! 'S true, ain't it?"

It didn't seem like a thing to be thrilled about achieving to me, but Emmett seemed impressed enough. The pace that Emmett set surprised me; it was just so slow. He was walking slower than the humans that were now strolling into the school. When we eventually reached the entrance, Jasper ducked in front of us to yank open the door.

Emmett pulled me through the doors faster than he'd walked, but still not extremely fast. He towed me to the reception desk, where a middle-aged woman sat; her glasses on the bridge of her nose. She looked up as we approached.

"This is Luna Cullen, my mother and father just fostered her. They did enrol her, but she needs her timetable and lesson passes," Emmett even managed to be friendly with receptionists; another thing only Emmett could do.

"Oh yes, of course. Here you go, dear. This is your timetable, your map of the school, and your lesson passes. I'm sure your brother here can help you with anything else you may require."

She wasn't as polite as Mary was. Americans; they were all the same. I rolled my eyes at the thought of it. I gathered my papers and turned to leave. As I turned, the door opened and two men walked through it; a man and a boy. The smell that followed them set my throat on fire. My eyes flew open and my head snapped up to follow the scent; it was coming from the boy. I felt my mouth drop open as I looked at him.

He wasn't particularly tall; perhaps around 5' 7". He was slim, but not overly skinny. His straight, sandy brown hair skimmed his chin, and framed his oval face. His black shirt and dark blue jeans didn't stand out against the other people in the school, but I couldn't remove my eyes. I knew that my mouth was still hanging open, but I couldn't remember how to close it. He was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. His piercing blue eyes drifted to my face, and they shot open in shock. I tried desperately to regain the use of my body.

Emmett caught me by my right elbow with his right hand, pushed my jaw shut with the finger of his other hand, and put his left hand at the base of my back, He used at his force to push me forward. To a human the image could have been quite comical; a 6' 0" block of muscle using his whole body to try to push a 5' 3" slim sixteen year old girl along, and not getting anywhere. To me, it seemed irrelevant. Just as long as I could watch the boy with pale, blue eyes for a while longer.

The two men walked quickly past us; the boy's gaze never leaving my face. His slightly opened mouth made his scent flow towards me even more. Could no one else smell him? Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Renesmee; they didn't look up as the boy stumbled past us to the reception desk.

"This is Philip Highton. I called in to enrol him a while ago, but he doesn't have a timetable yet," The older man didn't appear very friendly as he barked at the receptionist. I couldn't see the need for him to be rude.

The woman behind the desk, clearly taken aback by the hostility in the man's tone, spluttered as she tried to gather papers together. They landed on the desk with a thud. I was surprised at myself when the noise made me jump. The man scooped the papers up into his hands and thrust them into the boy's chest.

"Here. Don't get into trouble. I'll see you at home. Be home before ten, Phil. I mean it," The man had been slightly friendlier with the receptionist. The boy stumbled backwards as he threw his arms out to catch the papers; catching his foot on the edge of the carpet. Without thinking, I threw my arm out to catch him before he fell, but Emmett used the distraction to catch me and shove me in the other direction.

"We'll be late for art," Emmett mumbled at me as he yanked me along behind him.

*******

School was different in Forks; the lessons were inside, for one thing. I couldn't remember much of my human life, but Aro had always tried his best to create his own classrooms in the castle. Even with my father acting as my teacher, I'd found it extremely hard to concentrate. Aro'd had the idea to move our classes outdoors, and it worked like a charm. We would spend whole days sat in the Plaza; simply drawing and talking. The heat never bothered us too much, as we were always fairly cool anyway; one of the many perks to being a vampire.

I began to daydream of Italy in each class; daydreams of shorts, big sun hats, the black cloaks that I never wore... I'd never imagined I would miss the city of Volterra; never, until I was no longer there. This would be a long day...

*******

As we walked back to the car lot, I began to wonder how the boy from this morning, Phil, had found his first day. I remembered the flawless features of his face as we walked; wondering if anyone could really be as beautiful as I remembered him to be. The boy next to our Volvo answered my question with a definite 'yes'. His sandy brown, shoulder length hair caught in the wind as he opened the door of his Mini and climbed in; setting my throat on fire with thirst.

My eyes shot wide as the fire burned stronger. Shudders rolled down my spine as the wind blew more strongly towards me; embedding his scent deeper into my mind. Alice stepped smoothly between Phil and me, whispering in my ear, "His future just disappeared. Get in the car before you become the reason for that."


	7. Unexpected

**Unexpected**

"I said we shouldn't have let her go to school!" Edward's voice radiated from the house as we drove up to it; he wasn't toning down his shouting. "She's not one of us, Carlisle! I can see it in her head! She wants him, she'll stop at nothing. If Alice hadn't stopped her in the car lot, she would've drunk him dry right there and then!"

"Give her a chance, Edward. You wanted Bella dead the first time you smelt her blood, yet you managed to control yourself enough to have sex with her. What makes you think that Luna will be any different?" Carlisle matched his volume, yet not his tone. My adopted father made it perfectly clear in his mind that he trusted me indefinitely; perhaps more than I trusted myself.

"I fell in love with Bella. But that's beside the point, Carlisle! I hadn't been brought up to rip vampires to shreds as soon as they crossed me! She's not one of us; her name isn't even Cullen. It's Volturi, and it always will be."

"Your name is Masen, Edward. Rosalie's name is Hale. Jasper is a Whitlock. _I_ am the only official Cullen in this family, Edward; with perhaps the exception of Esme. Why are you so intent on driving Luna back to Italy? She has never murdered a human, nor drank a human's blood. She has a better record than you, Edward. It would do you well to remember that." Carlisle's firm tone clearly marked the end of the conversation, and I yanked the keys from the ignition.

I stared out of the windshield, at the back wall of the garage, as I tried to pull the edges of the hole opening inside of me back together again. 'Never murdered a human, nor drank a human's blood.' The words replayed through my mind; as if I were watching them on a screen. Carlisle had not technically lied, but he hadn't been completely truthful, either. I had murdered, I had drank blood; my murder, my blood. When the fire had burned inside of me - the same fire that scarred my memory – I had ripped my own skin from the bone. In the ecstasy of pain, I had tried to suck the fire out; I had drained the blood from my body. It was the reason for mine being the fastest change any vampire had ever endured; I'd had no blood for the venom to infect. I had drained myself so completely that I had never fully changed. It was the reason for me sparkling in the moonlight, not the sunlight; the reason that I still smelled human; the reason I ate, slept and drank; the reason that I was different. Aro had always marvelled at my difference from the others, but I had seen it from a completely different perspective; I hadn't seen how I was truly a vampire. I was wrong. The boy in the parking lot had proved that to me.

The expanses of my mind prevented me from pushing the thought away. Instead of trying, I slammed the keys onto the seat as I thrust my way out of the car. I didn't know where I was going; just that I was going somewhere safe. Somewhere that no one could watch over me. Somewhere that belonged to me. I ran as fast as I could push my legs, willing them faster when I reached full speed. I didn't know when I would stop, or even if I _could_ stop – just that it wasn't anywhere in Forks. I could just about hear Edward telling Alice to let me go. Just about hear Alice's panicked trill as she half-screamed that she'd seen my future disappear. Just about hear the despair in Carlisle's sudden inhale – he thought that he'd let Aro down.

Carlisle was wrong. I was the one that had let Aro down; I'd run when things got too much; a trait that had been preserved from my human life. The scent of wolf began to grow thicker in the air as I ran – I was in Quileute territory now. My ears pricked for the sound of padding, but all I could hear was the soft breeze rustling the trees. My anger draining, I began to slow my erratic pace. I wasn't far from the ocean now. The salty taste of the brine hit the back of my throat before I heard the sound of the waves rolling against the pebbles. I stopped dead at the edge of the forest that surrounded the stony beach. A pair of deep black eyes stared into mine from across the stretch of beach, and I understood why I hadn't lost total control this afternoon. A huge, black wolf stood in the fringes of trees that lined the beach, and I knew who it was before he began thinking.

"Hello, Luna. I believe you know me. My name is Philip Highton."

In that instant, I knew. I knew that I would never be capable of leaving the town of Forks – not without this wolf; not without _my_ wolf.


End file.
